Avon Grove's business manager retires

PENN — The school board is looking for a new district business manager to replace James Asciutto, who will be retiring Oct. 31, the same date district Superintendent Augustus Massaro is retiring.

“I have mixed emotions, but I think it’s time to go,” Asciutto said after a recent school board meeting, He has been the school district’s business manager for the past 9˝ years. “I think things have gone well. There’s always room for improvement. That’s what we try to do every day.”

The district has begun the process of drafting a budget for the 2014-15 school year.

“We start earlier and earlier every year. We already have a start on that and will try to get as much done before the end of the month as we can, and then my staff and whoever is in my place will finish it up,” Asciutto said.

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Incoming Superintendent Christopher Marchese told the board a candidate has expressed an interest in the job. “If that doesn’t come to fruition, we will address the situation with current staff and temporary support from the Intermediate Unit,” he said.

During the meeting, Massaro presented board members Pattie Lyons and Robert Weidenmuller certificates for their length of time served as school board members. Weidenmuller has been a board member for eight years, and Lyons has been on the board 16 years.

“The nice thing from a superintendent’s perspective, when you have a longevity on the board you can move forward and the learning curve is not that great,” Massaro said.

Massaro also thanked Student Council for selecting him to be the grand marshal of the homecoming parade. “That was really a wonderful honor,” he said. “After years of going to homecomings, I think that is the best homecoming I’ve ever seen.”

Near the conclusion of the meeting, Massaro reported that concerns about bullying on the school busses that were brought up at last month’s meeting have been addressed.

“We are looking at having some work shops for drivers,” Massaro said. “It’s difficult to be a bus driver. They are not necessarily trained to handle 72 students on a bus.

Board member Bruce Dobsch asked that the board receive more information about what is happening on the buses. “I think we need to have a report quarterly or monthly,” he said. “We are responsible for them from their house to the school and back.”